DYCD is celebrating 25 years of Beacon programs across New York City! To help commemorate this milestone, share your Beacon story with us. DYCD will highlight stories online, in print, and at events throughout the year. Learn more.

DYCD is proud to release the NYCHA Cornerstone Programs Request for Proposals (RFP) through the HHS Accelerator system to those organizations prequalified in the relevant service areas. Likewise, proposals must be submitted through the HHS Accelerator system in the manner set forth in the "Procurement" section of the system by those same pre-qualified organizations. Go to HHS accelerator to learn more and to apply.

In this RFP, DYCD is seeking appropriately qualified organizations to operate innovative Cornerstone community center programs for youth and adults located in NYCHA developments across New York City. A total of 94 programs will be funded, one for each of the existing Cornerstone sites.

It is anticipated that the contract term will be from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2019 with options to renew for three additional years. Questions regarding this RFP should be emailed to rfpquestions@dycd.nyc.gov indicating "Cornerstone" in the subject line.

Due date of this RFP is November 5, 2015 at 2:00 pm in the HHS Accelerator system.

Ice-skating is synonymous with winter in New York City. Luckily, you don't have to wait until the holidays roll around to enjoy this time-honored tradition. Many of the City's rinks open early in the fall–including the Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park, The Rink at Rockefeller Center and the Trump Rink, all of which begin their season in October. Taking advantage of the early openings may be wise; the rinks grow more crowded as the holidays approach.

Those with a taste for fall fruit and a desire to make history are invited to take a bite of an actual big apple at noon as part of a citywide attempt to break a world record: the most people at a "simultaneous apple crunching event." It's the height of fall apple season, so there's good reason to try one from a New York City greenmarket (like the location in Union Square), many of which will host portions of the big crunch. Admission is free, for details, including other locations, visit Big Apple Crunch.

Outdoor arts space Socrates Sculpture Park hosts its seasonal artistic celebration. Prep for Halloween by crafting a costume alongside the park's artists, listen to music and enjoy seasonal foods from local restaurants. Face painting and a canine costume contest are also on the agenda. Saturday, October 24, 2015, admission is free, visit socratessculpturepark.org for more information. Socrates Sculpture Park, 32-01 Sculpture Park at Broadway (Long Island City—Vernon/Broadway), Queens, NY 11106.

Come in your Halloween best to this free, family-friendly spookfest in Lower Manhattan. Strut down the Costume Catwalk, hear live music from the Deedle Deedle Dees, listen to stories, take part in hands-on activities, see magic tricks, go trick-or-treating and much more. For more information, visit artsbrookfield.com. Saturday, October 31, 2015.

The Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival is pleased to announce the call for submissions for the 2015 Brooklyn Non-Fiction Prize and Brooklyn Documentary Prize.

The Brooklyn Non-Fiction Prize, a cash award of $500, will be awarded to the best Brooklyn-focused non-fiction essay which is set in Brooklyn and is about Brooklyn and/or Brooklyn people/characters. We are seeking compelling Brooklyn stories from writers with a broad range of backgrounds and ages who can render Brooklyn's rich soul and intangible qualities through the writer's actual experiences in Brooklyn. From the collection of selected Brooklyn Non-Fiction Prize submissions, five authors will be selected to read from their work and discuss their Brooklyn stories with the audience at our December 2015 event. The exact date/time and venue will be announced later. These stories and several other submitted stories will be published on the Brooklyn Film and Arts Festival website and made available to the public. The deadline is November 15th, 2015 and submissions should be between 4 to 10 pages (up to 2500 words). Runners-up will be invited to read from their writing and their entries will be included in the Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival's Brooklyn Non-Fiction Collection of stories in an online anthology.

The Brooklyn Documentary Prize, a cash award of $250, will be awarded to the best short Brooklyn-focused documentary film. The Brooklyn Documentary Prize competition is seeking short Brooklyn-related documentaries which are about any of several Brooklyn themes listed on their website. The winning documentary will be presented at the Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival screening. The deadline for the Brooklyn Documentary Prize is November 10th, 2015.

Dates and venues for screenings of the Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival's films and documentaries will be announced on their website blog. Entry is free for each contest and for more information about the requirements please visit their website.

Established in 1999 as a private family foundation, its focus is on enhancing the quality of life in its communities in New York, Connecticut, Puerto Rico and Brazil. The Foundation supports organizations in eight sectors: community services, Danbury (CT) area projects, education, land conservation, domestic medical care, global medical care, selected projects, and discretionary. The Foundation does not accept unsolicited grant materials, but encourages potential organizations to call the Foundation at any time. There is a open application deadline, please check out the website for additional information.

The Foundation's primary interest is in the field of education, including smaller colleges and public education initiatives in New York City. The Foundation also makes grants in the areas of civic and urban affairs and culture in New York City. Civic and urban affairs topics are defined as human services, affordable housing, community development, and parks/gardens. In the area of the arts, K–12 education, and civic and urban affairs, the Foundation focuses on projects in New York City. In higher education, the Foundation has a broader geographic interest. Proposals for scholarship, fellowships, and unrestricted endowments are discouraged. The Foundation has a history of allocating funding to organizations based in Oregon, California, Maryland, Louisiana, Ohio, Connecticut, Kentucky, Wisconsin, and Washington, D.C. Deadlines for individual programs vary. Individual program contacts as well as additional information can be found on the website.

The Foundation's current funding interests are economic development, education, civil legal services, criminal justice, reproductive rights, and the environment. Economic development grants are aimed at increasing the number of living wage jobs in New York City and ensuring low-income workers' access to those jobs. Education grants seek to fund efforts to improve the public school system in New York City. Civil legal services grants supports efforts to reduce barriers to effective and unrestricted civil legal assistance through direct legal representation and policy advocacy. Criminal justice grants is focused on programs working to reduce recidivism and improving public safety. Environment grants support a range of environmental issues through policy change, public education, and legal advocacy. Funding in this area is limited to organizations whose work is national in scope. Reproductive rights grants support domestic programs that seek to protect women's reproductive rights and increase access to comprehensive reproductive health services. In most program areas, the Foundation seeks to fund both direct services programs and advocacy efforts. The Foundation's support for direct services programs is limited to those operating in New York City. Interested applicants are asked to contact the Foundation's program staff before submitting a letter of inquiry. The Foundation makes grant decisions in December and June. Requests for both general support and program support are considered. Grants are made only to tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organizations. Additional information can be found on the website.